Electrically-controlled signaling apparatus.



E. W. AYLWARD. ELEGTRIGALLY GONTROLLED SIGNALING APPARATUS,

` APPLICATION FILED 00T. 14, 1910.

Patented Dec. 23, 1913.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

--illllmlllw OGLUIQBIA PLANOGRAPH C01.WASH!NGTDN. D. c,

H. W. AYLWARD.

ELBGTRIGALLY GONTROLLBD SIGNALING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 0OT.14, 1910.

1,081,941 Patented Dec. 23, 1913.

6 SHEETS-SHEBT 2.

cuLUMmA PLANooR/mn cn.,wAsHlNGToN, n. c.

H. W. AYLWARD. 'ELEGTRIGALLY coNTRoLLBD SIGN/LING APPARATUS.

APPLIUATION FILED 00T. 14, 1910.

Patented Dec. 23, 1913.

COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH C0.,w^sHlNnTaN, D. C.

` H. W. 'AYLWARD.

BLBGTRIGALLY GONTROLLED SIGNALING APPARATUS.

APPLIUATION FILEDNOGT. 14, 1910.

1,081,941 Patented De0.23,1913.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

www# l CDLUMBIA PLANOGRM'H C0.,WASIHNGTON. D. c.

E. W. AYLWARD. BLBGTRIGALLY ooNToLLBD SIGNALING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED 00T.14, 1910.

1,081,941 Patented Dec. 23, 1913.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

/1 TTOHNE Y COLUMBIA PLAGGRAPH C0., WASHINGTON. D. c.

H. W. AYLWARD. BLEGTRICALLY GONTROLLBD SXGNALING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 14, 1910.

' Patented Dec. 23, 1913.

e SHEETS-SHEET e.

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TlNTTFD STATES FATEN T FFTQF.

HENRY W. AYLWARD, OF NEVJ YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRICALLY-CONTROLLED SIGNALING APPARATUS.

T0 all whom 25 may concern.'

Be it known that I, HENRY WV. AYLWARD, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the borough of Brooklyn, in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Tmprovements in Electrically-Controlled Signaling Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electrically controlled signaling apparaturs, and particularly to that class known as ship telegraph systems.

The object of my invention is to provide an apparatus whereby signals may be transmitted with a high degree of rapidity and accuracy.

A further object is to provide means for indicating when the apparatus is out of order.

With these objects in view, my invention consists in various novel features o f construction, and combinations and arrangements of parts as hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an embodiment of my invention, similar reference characters denote similar parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a transmitting and a receiving instrument in circuit. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the receiving instrument, taken on the line X-X of Fig. 3 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows. Fig. 3 is a partlybroken-away longitudinal sectional view of the receiving instrument on the line X-X of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a top view of one end of the receiving instrument with the cover` removed. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the mechanism for rotating the indicator-drums. Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the transmitting switch with the handle and cover-plate removed, and Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line Kil-Xa of Fig. 6.

Referring to the parts of the system by reference characters in Fig. 2, the numeral 1 indicates the base of the receiving instrument on which are erected standards 2 thatI support a fixed shaft 3. On this shaft are mounted revolubly, indicator-drums 4 and 5, having on their faces numerals or other characters as shown in Fig. 4, which it may Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led October 14, 1910.

ratenteanee. as, isis.

Serial No. 587,039.

be desired to display through windows 6 6 provided for that purpose in the cover 7 of the instrument; the said windows being of such size and shape that only one character in any one circumferential line on the drums is visible at one time. Connected to the hub of each of the drums are ratchet wheels 8-9, which are adapted to be rotated by pawls 10, 11, 12 and 13 see Fig. 5). These pawls are provided with upwardly extending tails 10, 11', 12 and 13, and are arranged in oppositely working pairs on a stud 14; and, between the tails of each pair of pawls, springs 15-16 are interposed which tend to move the pawls toward each other in a scissors-like manner. The stud 14 is carried by a rock-arm 17 which is swingingly mounted on the hub of the ratchet wheel 9. This rock-arm also carries at its upper end a plate 18, the function of which will presently appear, and is arranged to be actuated by the magnets 19 and 20 through the medium of the secondary rock-arms 21-22 and the connecting rods 23-24, as will be more fully explained hereinafter. The numeral 25 denotes a standard fixed to the base of the instrument, provided with lugs 26 and 27, in each of which is placed a detent consisting of a ball 28-29 each of which is held against the teeth of one of the ratchet wheels by a spring 30-31. (See Fig. 3.) The said standard also serves to support three bars 32, 33 and 34, the object of which will be later defined.

For a clearer understanding of the mechanism employed to rotate the indicator drums, reference is to be had to Fig. 5, in which it will be seen that two pawls are hingedly hung over each ratchet wheel on a stud 14 that is common to all and is carried by the rock-arm 17. It will also be noted that the pawls that hang on one side of the stationary rest made in the form of a bar, 33, are adapted to engage the teeth of the ratchet wheels when the rock-arm 17 is moved in one direction, while those on the other side of the @raid bar 33 are adapted to engage the teeth of the ratchet wheel when the rockarm 1i" is moved in the opposite direction. Therefore, assuming that the rock-arm 17 stands normally in a central position with relation to the bar 33, as shown in Fig. 2, the

pawls on both sides of the bar will be in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheels; and, if the rock-arm be moved in either direction, the ratchet wheels, and also the indicator-drums which they carry, will be similarly moved. For example, if the rock-arm 17 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in the pawls 10 and 13, (the latter being shown in dotted lines) will engage the te-eth of their respective ratchet wheels, and the pawls 11 and 12 will be lifted and kept out of engagement by the bar 33. Thus the ratchet wheels will be moved with the rock-arm until the ends of the pawls 10 and 13 are under the bar 32; whereupon the ratchet wheels will be restricted from further movement, which might be caused by inertia, because the bar 3:9J will prevent the pawls from being lifted from the teeth of the ratchet wheels except by a backward movement tangental to the ratchet wheels, and, as the detent-balls 28-29 prevent the 'ratchet wheels from accidentally moving during the return stroke of the pawls, it will be apparent that continued movement of the rock-arm reciprocatingly, in the manner stated, will cause the ratchet wheels to rotate in a step-by-step manner in one direction; and, obviously, similar movement of the rock-arm from its normal position in the opposite direction will, in like manner, reversely rotate the ratchet wheels. The pawls 10 and 11, however, are each provided with a finger 10a- 11a (the former being shown in dotted lines) that contact with the circumferential surface of a disk 35, which is carried by the ratchet wheel 9.` Contact of the fingers with the disk prevents the said pawls from engaging the ratchet wheel 8 except when the end of one of the fingers drops into one of the cavities indicated by the numerals 36 and 37. One or more of these cavities is provided for each finger and, `as the cavities for the different fingers are not located in circumferential alinement, and as the ends of the fingers are correspondingly offset, each finger will drop only into its own kind of cavity. I thus provide means whereby reciprocation of the rock-arm will rotate th-e indicator-drums in a step-by-step manner in either direction and at a different rate. The cavities 36 and 37 may conveniently be positioned in relation to the teeth of the wheel 9 in divisibles of ten, to the end that the wheel 8 may be rotated to the extent of one tooth, while the wheel 9 will be advanced a distance of ten teeth.

The manner in which reciprocative movement is imparted to the rock-arm 17 is clearly shown in Fig. 2, in which it will be seen that the two secondary rock-arms 21 and' 22 are fulcrumed to the base 1. To these secondary rock-arms are fixed the armatures 19' and 2Oa of the magnets 19 and 20. Spring-pressed plungers 38-39 bear against each of these armatures, and nuts 40-41 are provided on the rear-ends of the said plungers to limit their movement by the springs, and thereby regulate the normal position of the secondary rock-arms 21-22, which, in turn, by means of the connecting rods and 24, will govern the position of the rock-arm 17 and centralize it relative to the bar 3, in which position the plate 18, at the upper end of the said rock-arm, will act as a shutter to close the windows 646', thereby preventing the reading of the characters on the faces of the indicator-drums except when one of the magnets 19-20 is energized. This shutter 13 is a very important feature of the invention. Then the magnets are denergized, the shutter will be in the medial position and will mask or cover the faces of the disks and prevent the characters upon them being seen. This shutter will be moved to one side when one or the other of the magnets is energized, thus allowing the characters on the faces of the disks to be observed through the windows. This shutter, therefore, in the medial position, will prevent the characters from being seen. `When the electric circuits for any reason are broken, the springs will move the shutter to the medial position and will thus serve to indicate that some part of the apparatus is out of order. The apparatus is in-y tended to be used normally with a closed circuit, and, therefore, with one of the magnets energized. Should this circuit accidentally become broken, the shutter will indicate this fact at once. Assuming that the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 2, it will be readily understood that if the circuit, in which either one or other of these magnets 19-20 is placed, is alternately closed and opened, the rock-arm 17 will be drawn toward that magnet and returnedto its normal position, alternately.

The transmitting instrument (see Figsl, 6 and 7 is essentially a switch adapted to open the circuit on two line wires, or to close the circuitI on either of them. Tn practice I prefer to incorporate this switch as a part of each instrument, so that signals may be transmitted or received at either end of the system; and to construct it as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, in which the numeral 42 indicates a hoard of hard rubber, or other insulating material, on which are mounted three curved contact plates 43, 44 and 45. Tn the said board 42 is a hole located concentric to the curve of the cont-act plates, and a shaft 46 passes through this hole. One end of the shaft is journaled in the end plate 47 of the instrument, and the other in a suitable bearing (not shown). Fixed on the shaft is an arm 4S that carries an insulated receptacle 49 for a ball, 50 that is pressed toward the contact plates by a spring 51, and is adapted to contact with plates 43 and 44, or with plates 43 and 45, eXcept when the arm is so placed as to locate the ball in the position indicated by the numeral 52, where a space of circular shape and of greater diameter than the ball is provided between the contact plates. A gear wheel 53 is fixed on the shaft 46 and meshes with a gear wheed 54 o-f greater diameter. This latter gear wheel is fixed on a secondary shaft 55 that is journaled in the end plate 47, and is provided with a hand lever 56 that controls the movement of the arm.

The numeral 57 denotes a triangular collar that is liXed on the shaft 46. vA springpressed plunger 58 bears against this collar and serves as a detent that causes the ballcarrying arm 48 to seek one of three diierent positions when the shaft 46 is moved rotatably; one position that will cause the ball 50 to contact with the plates 43 and 44, one position that will cause the said ball to contact with the plates 43 and 45, and one that will locate the ball in the position before referred to where it will not be in contact with any of the said plates. I prefer to make the collar 57 of triangular shape and to multiply, by means of the gear wheels 53 and 54, the motion which may be imparted to the arm by the movement of the hand lever 56.

rIhe system of wiring connecting the transmitting and receiving stations is sho-wn in F ig. l, in which the letter A designates generally the transmitting instrument, and the letter B similarly designates the receiving instrument. The numeral 59 indicates the source of electrical energy, symbolized as a battery, having one pole connected by the wire 60 to the contact plate 43 of the transmitting switch, and the opposite pole connected by the common return wire 6l to one terminal 0f each of the magnets 19-20 of the receiving instrument. The other terminal of each of these magnets is connected by one of the line wires 62-63 to one of the contact plates 44-45 of the transmitting switch. rlherefore, if the switch-arm is in the position shown in full lines, the circuit will be opened on both the line wires 62 and 63, and neither of the magnets 19-20 will be energized. If the arm be moved to the position shown in dotted lines, the circuit will be closed on the line wire 62, and the magnet 20 will be energized. A similar movement of the arm in the opposite direction will, likewise, bring it into contact with the plate 45 and cause the magnet 19 to be energized. Ihe operation of the receiving patent statutes, I have described the principle of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof; but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is merely illustrative and that the invention can be carried out in other ways.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In electrically controlled signaling apparatus, the combination of a plurality of rotatable drums having symbols on the drums, ratchet mechanism for rotating said drums in either of two directions, electromagnets for actuating said ratchet mechanism, a shutter, means for moving the shutter to obscure a symbol on each drum when the ratchet mechanism returns to normal position, and means for energizing and deenergizing the magnets.

2. In electrically controlled signaling' apparatus, the combination of a plurality of rotatable drums, symbols on the drums, ratchet mechanism adapted to rotate the drums in either of two directions, electromagnets for actuating said ratchet mechanism, means for energizing and denergizing the magnets, a shutter adapted to be operated by said magnets, and resilient means for holding the shutter in a position to screen a symbol on each of said drums when the magnets are denergized.

3. In electrically controlled signaling apparatus, the combination of a rotatable drum, a ratchet-wheel afliXed to said drum, a pair of pawls adapted to engage said ratchet-wheel and rotate it in either of two directions, an aXle carrying said pawls, a rock-arm carrying said axle, a shutter attached to said rock-arm, a pair of secondary rock-arms connected to said axle-carrying rock-arm, a pair of opposed electro-magnets, each adapted to move one of said secondary rock-arms from its normal position, a pair of spring-pressed plungers, each adapted to return one of said secondary ro-ck-arms to its normal position, and means for independently energizing and denergizing the said electro-magnets.

4. In an electrically controlled signaling apparatus, the combination of a rotatable drum having symbols thereon, mechanical devices for rotating said drum in either of two directions, electro-magnets for actuating said mechanical devices, a shutter adaptl eity, in the4 countyv of New York and State ed to be operated by the magnets to disclose of New York this 13th day of October, A. D. '1U a symbol, means Carried by the magnets for 1910. moving the shutter to screen a symbol on the drum when the said electro-magnets are HENRY W' AYLWARD' not energized, and means for energizing Witnesses:

and denergizing said magnets.

FREDERICK B. BLAGKMAN, Signed at 143 Liberty street, New York JOHN J. CARROLL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

